The use of trichothecene-contaminated grains in feeds

A review is presented describing the relative efficiencies of the various technologies that have been proposed to permit incorporation of mycotoxin-contaminated grains into animal diets without adversely influencing growth rate or resulting in hazardous residues in edible animal tissues. When the degree of contamination is modest, it may be possible to dilute the contaminated materials with uncontaminated grain to lower the concentration of trichothecenes below the threshold of significant biological activity. A less useful alternative to dilution is the other mechanical approach of milling to remove the most heavily contaminated fractions of the grain. Chemical destruction of triochothecenes is also a possibility. An example is the use of sodium bisulfite treatment to destroy deoxynivalenol in contaminated corn. Such treatments may, however, reduce palatability and nutritional value. When the biochemical mechanism of trichothecene toxicity is known, in vivo therapeutic treatments may be possible. It has been shown, for example, that T-2 toxin-induced changes in brain prostaglandin production can be overcome by treatment with dexamethasone resulting in increased survival. A similar effect was seen using the selective platelet activating factor antagonist BN 52021. Another approach is the use of dietary treatments to either promote in vivo detoxification of mycotoxins or to reduce absorption from the digestive tract with the aid of nonnutritive binding agents.